When Was This?
by Nooboo
Summary: The smallest glitch suddenly becomes their biggest problem so far!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. Glitch.

I took a deep breath and tried not to look as Rebecca was about to cable me into the Animus 2.0. I noticed how Shaun had to let out an annoyed sigh in response to my fear. Dumb-ass. A smart one nonetheless. Had to hand him that. I could hear Lucy typing peacefully on the keyboard of her PC. She had been very quiet today. Something about the little glitch they had found yesterday. It had been so small, if Rebecca hadn't re-played the tapes of the daily recording from our sessions, I wouldn't have noticed. It had showed a few seconds of the memories from someone we couldn't quite make out. The glitch had been to small to make out and a bit too small to care for. Lucy had calmed down when Shaun had calculated the possibilities of any serious danger. It had been... what? 0,00,00000000009 or something? Probably a lot more zero's than that anyway. I held in a cry of pain as Rebecca plugged me in. My eyes slowly closed and I fell into the depths of memories. A glitch had already started. The same clip showed up again and this time I noticed... I saw it. Recognized it!

"_Desmond!" He yelled out. That idiotic little brat had done it again he must have thought. Jerk! "Desmond Miles, don't you dare argue with me. We've spoken about this several times already: You can not leave the Farm! How many times do I have to-"_

I opened my eyes and got up from the machine in an instant. Rebecca had unplugged me. "Desmond," Lucy spoke. "Are you okay?" I looked at her with confusion. What the fuck was that? Was that my-? Was that the time when I had-?

"Desmond," Rebecca spoke. "What was that?" I looked around in confusion and slowly regained my consciousness. I came to my senses and answered: "That was... I think it was my dad." Shaun had also been looking at me. "Crap." He spoke. "It's always when the possibility is the smallest, isn't it?" He brought out his calculator and tapped on his keyboard with one hand at the same time. Rebecca noticed and immediately began working with the Animus. "We have to find out what went wrong here." Rebecca spoke. "This could be dangerous." Lucy looked at me with caution and great worry. You could always tell. "Desmond, are you okay?" She repeated, this time a little slower and more passionate. "Yeah, I'm fine. No hallucinations, no-"

"Desmond, that's not what I meant." Lucy said. "That memory didn't look very... bright." She spoke and looked at me with sparkly eyes. Was she crying? "When are they ever?" I asked her sarcastic. Well, sometimes they were nice, but... sigh. The life of an assassin just isn't fair, is it? "What had happened?" She asked me and put a hand on my shoulder. "The same as usual. I just wanted to get the hell out of the Farm." I answered casually. "It's no big deal Lucy. Really." I told her as reassuring as I now would be. She took her to the tears and walked to her computer. "It won't happen again Desmond." She promised. "That glitch will be the first and last. Right Rebecca?"

"Of course!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2. Overkill.

"It should be safe now Desmond." Lucy spoke as I stretched my back after a long, long nap. I was well-rested. Everyone had worked hard all day yesterday on fixing that glitch. I should be pretty safe, yes. "Yeah. I can't believe Baby actually did that to us." Rebecca spoke as she kept typing on her computer. "But things should be okay now... I guess." I looked at Rebecca only to find her a bit down today. I could sure as hell understand why. She had always been so proud of Baby. Finding that glitch must have really let her down. "Don't worry about it." I told her. "The Animus at Abstergo had far more glitches than those two." She looked up from her PC and smiled at me. "And the Animus 2.0 is way more comfortable anyway." I spoke smiling. Truth be told. Shaun let out a yawn and I looked in his direction. Sleep well? Lucy came up to me, whispering: "He's been up all night, trying to figure out if someone's been trying to hack into our system." Like I said; A smart dumb-ass nonetheless. I sat down, safe and comfortably, on the Animus. I didn't notice Rebecca plugging me in so it didn't really hurt. Thank God! My eyes closed and I, once again, fell into the depths of memories. Usually the memories of others. Not this time though...

_Out there. Outside. On the other side of the Farm. I looked at the sun lower into the horizon and realized that it would disappear soon. Disappear into the world. The world unknown._

_I could hear my mother call for me. She would repeatedly scream my name through the Farm. It wouldn't take her long to find me. The Farm was very small indeed. We were about 30 people living there. I knew everyone on the Farm. And everyone knew me. It was getting tiresome. I wanted to meet new people. See new faces, new possibilities. New goals. New horizons. Not just this boring desert-horizon that I had seen before, like, a million times already. I wanted the full view. The world. The whole world out there. I had thought and thought about it. About what wonderful sights I would be able to see out there. What wonderful people._

_What a wonderful world._

_Too bad I can't see it from here... the Farm... "Desmond!" I sighed as I-_

"Goddammit!" I yelled out. "Get him out of there. Now." I told Rebecca. She was already working on it. Poor Desmond. What the heck was going on? "I can't!" Rebecca spoke. "Baby won't listen to me. She won't respond!" Shaun immediately pushed buttons and turned on the microphones: "Desmond!" He spoke into them and made contact with him and the Animus. "You have to resist the memory. It's another glitch!" I looked desperately at Desmond. He wasn't responding. "Baby's overheating!" Rebecca shouted in desperation.

_Paranoid jerks. Them and all of their: "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted"-crap! Maybe they should think about that one for a while? Everything is permitted... which means I can do this!_

_I jumped over the fence and ran for it._

Wait... this was my own memory. How did that get in there? What's going on? "Rebecca?" I yelled out. "Lucy! Lucy!" I repeatedly cried out desperately. "It's another glitch!" I yelled. "Shaun?"

"_Desmond!" _Shaun?

"Shaun! Shaun, are you there?" I yelled.

"_You have to resist the memory. It's another glitch!" _

"How do I do that?" I yelled through the memory of my own escape. Suddenly, my vision started to blur. Was it the memory or me that was disappearing? "SHAUN!" I cried out as everything was fading. Everything was disappearing! Where was I? WHEN?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3. Fuck...

"Fuck..." I mumbled as I coughed a few times. Had I been sleeping? I got up from the- ground?

What the-? Where was I? When did I-?

"The glitch..." I mumbled to myself as I got up. Now THIS was one hell of a glitch!

The villa? Villa Auditore? No, this couldn't be Monteriggioni... could it? I could hear it. The sounds of children laughter and women conversing with one another about the troubles of today and tomorrow. The sounds of merchants and costumers. I scooped the area. The village was in pretty good shape actually. About as good as I had – I mean – as Ezio had left it.

I turned around and in the rush a few people accidentally bumped into me, excusing themselves. Of course, it took them a little more than seconds to take their eyes off me. Was I wearing my usual outfit? Yep. Darn.

No, wait, what am I saying? I'm NOT in the city of Monteriggioni. This is just another one of those illusions. Hallucinations.

It did smell a bit funny though... No! It's just my imagination running wild. Running very, very wild. The bleeding effect. It sure is real, though... I sighed. Guess I had to wait for... awakening? Something like that. Maybe I should hide in meantime... I felt very uncomfortable around all these stares from strangers. I walked up the street, slowly and insecure. I had never tried a bleeding-effect whereas I was the main character. It felt pretty weird. "How about some new clothes my good sir?" I turned around (again). A salesman. Was he talking to me? "Uh," I spoke. "No, it's okay. It's not like I'm staying." He looked confused at me, but kept on selling: "But the clothes you're wearing looks ridiculous. How about something a little more... modern?" I couldn't help but to let out a chuckle. "No thanks." I answered smiling and kept walking straight forward, ignoring his constant selling. Wait, straight forward. Wasn't that the direction for the manor? Hm, would that be a good thing? "Move it boy." A lady said as she shoved me away. There goes my mood... wait, hadn't I seen her before? It would seem Caterina Sforza reacted the same. I quickly hid in a stack of hay before she got the chance to turn around and get a closer look. The hay was itchy and had this discomforting smell. Like horse. Horse-crap to be more precise. I could see her through the hay. I recognized her as the woman whose children Ezio had saved. The warrior woman whom had more balls than any other I had ever seen... in the Animus, that is. Please don't notice me! She slowly returned to her straight route towards the Auditore Villa. Phew... maybe I should just wait in here. Until I wake up. Wait, wasn't I inside the Animus before? That's right. The glitch. But-

"Move it!" She yelled louder. I took a peek from the hay. Uh, oh?

"Wait a minute." She spoke confused. "Ezio?"

"Caterina? What are you doing here?" Ezio asked smiling, rubbing his arm where she must have bumped into him. "I came here looking for you." She answered, greeting him. "But," She spoke, looking back at where I had been standing before. "We had better get back to the Villa."

"Why not out here? It's a wonderful day." Ezio said smiling.

"I'll tell you when we get there." I could barely hear her. Good thing my dad had taught me how to eavesdrop on people or I wouldn't have heard anything. No wait, this was Ezio's memory! Of course I could hear. The whole "Being there"-thing was just another glitch. The bleeding-effect had taken it's toll and everything. As they began to walk the last thing I heard was: "Strange things are happening Ezio..." I felt this was a conversation I did not want to miss. Although... no, if I was going to be stuck around here I might as well stick around and see if I can learn something. I jumped out of the hay and returned to the merchant, whom had kindly offered me some new clothes. "How much?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4. Oh noes?

"No, no, no," Rebecca repeated while typing hysterical on her PC. "Why won't he wake up?" Lucy cried, while she was trying to awaken Desmond. I stepped toward Lucy and Desmond, lying in bed. They had put him there as the Animus was a far too dangerous place to leave him. But now, he just wouldn't awaken from the "Animus-condition". It was a coma-like condition all subjects of the Animus entered when during the recording of memories. Not a real coma. Just an Animus-one. So, why wouldn't he wake up when they had unplugged him? "Relax," I told Lucy as she was getting desperate. "If you keep shaking him like that you'll eventually break his neck or likely."

Lucy looked at me with despair in her eyes, but took a deep breath and answered: "You're right. This is no time to panic."

Rebecca leaned back in her chair in a "I-give-up"-kind of way. "Baby just won't make sense!" She said. "Keeps saying stuff, like; r_endering memory_, or, _synchronization complete_." She sighed out loudly. "Poor Desmond."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5. Altair?

Walking as steadily as I now could through the small crowds of people I followed the two people; Caterina Sforza and Ezio Auditore. My clothing was giving me the perfect blend. Thank God. I didn't exactly look as wealthy as Ezio or anyone else, but since I was out of money – money from this decade anyway – the merchant had no other choice. They were walking in silence through the streets and eventually reached the manor. I decided to enter the manor a little more... discreet. I went into an empty ally, only to find no ladders. How convenient. I climbed the walls instead, just like I had been taught from my sessions of Ezio's memories. It was surprisingly easy! Had I been working out in the Animus? Or maybe I was expecting it to be a lot harder than it really was?... I reached the edge and before I knew it, I was standing on the rooftop. I could see Caterina and Ezio walk up the stairs to the mansion. I looked at the rooftop in front of me. Was I supposed to just... jump? It must be more than just jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Well, now or never. After all, I was positive this was only an illusion! Hallucination! A glitch. Yes, no more. I stepped as far back as I could and ran for it. And then, I jumped for it... The feeling of no ground below my feet was... relieving. I could suddenly feel the gravity and I landed on the edge of the other rooftop. I looked back at the distance I had jumped. Whoa! Was I really capable of doing this? Well, I had kind of killed those guards at Abstergo... Alright, enough of that. I looked at the mansion. Ezio and Caterina had stopped to talk with Mario. It would seem he was training his men for battle in the training-area. Good old uncle Mario. I jumped from rooftop to rooftop. I felt so free. Maybe that was why it was called free-running? Just to be safe, I held my hidden blade ready beneath the disguise. I was wearing my regular clothes below it. Not like I had time to change if I actually wanted to follow them... Another jump and I was balancing on the walls of Villa Auditore. I jumped down and scanned the mansion. It looked bigger than usual, actually. I hid behind a tree, watching my "targets" do a little smalltalk before they went inside the manor. I looked at the manor. Hm, if I remember correctly, then... I ran around the house and stopped by a window. Yes, they had all gathered in there. I got as close to the window as possible and listened closely through the, luckily opened, window:

"Caterina, what's all the fuss about? Did something happen?" I believe that must have been Mario's voice. "Yes, something did happen. In Florence."

"Florence?" Ezio asked. "What happened?"

"Well, according to Paola the guards have arrested someone. An assassin."

"An assassin? One of us?"

"No, that's the weird thing. He is not one of us, but is wearing our ancient style of clothing."

"Like mine?" Ezio asked.

"Yes, a lot like yours. In fact, she said from the rumors she has gathered up it looks a lot like Altair's armor..."

"But- wait, THAT Altair?" Mario stated surprised. "Sh," Caterina spoke. "Not so loud." She said and closed the window. Damn! How was I supposed to be listening now? Well, not like I needed to know any further. It would seem Altair was there too... Damn bleeding-effect. It's mixing everything together now! Although, some questions have yet to be answered... What had Altair done? Hadn't he already learned to be discrete? Or maybe something happened... No. This was all nonsense. I had to wake up! Sooner or later, any time now!... Any time now?...


	6. Chapter 6

Damn. How much longer do I have to wait? Don't they WANT to unplug me?

Had something happened? Were they all safe? Maybe they had to stop the truck for some reason. Were the Templars involved? Oh, crap, what if the systems had really BEEN hacked? Had they captured us while I was standing here, hallucinating? Goddammit, why won't I wake up ALREADY?

I decided to walk away from the mansion. I didn't want to get into any kind of trouble right no-

"STOP!" What the-? "It's an intruder!" Oh, crap! I ran for it. I had to reach those walls! Damn me. I should have been more discrete! "STOP! INTRUDER! You there, warn master Mario!" Crap, crap, crap, crap, OH CRAP! That's a long way down! Had they build this mansion on the edge of the city? Shit. I turned around. There were about five men chasing after me. I guess I could take them down, open an escape-way and run like hell. Sounds like a plan. I took my stance – the one Ezio had taught me – and linked my fists. "Intruder!" I get it already, I'm an intruder. No, wait. Why act so hostile? I'm no enemy! "Wait," I spoke. "I'm not out for a fight."

"Then why were you running away before?"

"It's a reflex!" Truth be told. We had been escaping Abstergo for so long... I had gotten used to the running. "Look, I can assure you, I am no enemy." I spoke, not sure what I was supposed to do. I could see uncle Mario – I mean, he's not my uncle. He's Ezio's uncle! Dang, I've been in the Animus for so long... "Who is this?" Mario asked his men.

Ezio and Caterina were on their way... I had a weird feeling about this. Maybe I should jump out from the edge anyway?

"You," Mario spoke. "Who are you?" He asked and pointed his blade in my face. "I am no enemy." I answered.

"Why..." Caterina spoke. Had she perhaps recognized me? "Tell us your name." I gulped and looked at Ezio. The vault. Minerva had already told him my name. The prophecy.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7. The Truth.

"Fuck..." I mumbled unheard. What was I supposed to do? Right now that edge didn't look so dangerous... Even if I did tell them the truth; why should they believe me? And even if they did believe me; what difference would it make? I was stuck in some kind of glitch. The Bleeding-effect was very realistic, but that was kind of the idea: Lucy had told me that it was the DNA-memories of mine and my ancestors that would start "bleeding" and mix together so that I wouldn't be capable of telling the difference between now and then. Hallucinations, trauma... same old song. Poor subject 16. "I asked you a question!" Caterina spoke, pulling out her sword. "Whoa," I exclaimed. "Relax!" I spoke as she held her sword closely to my throat. Or it felt very close at least. "Look," I began thinking at high pressure. Well, what-ever could go wrong? "My name..." I took a last look at Ezio and sighed. "Is Desmond Miles." I spoke slowly. Ezio pushed away uncle Mario and Caterina, asking: "Wait, what?" If only life had an undo-button... "Desmond?" He asked with his Italian accent. It sounded kind of funny when he said it... But so far so good. Now, how am I supposed to explain the rest? Well, I had better start from the beginning. Which is where?

I guess the beginning would be in my apartment, when Abstergo had – no – when the Templars had kidnapped me. They had strapped me into the Animus. A machine, capable of re-rendering ancient memories of your ancestors. The fastest way to retrieve the memory they were looking for was for me to co-operate with their schemes. I had done it, hesitating at first. After all, if they had to kidnap me it couldn't be anything good.

But I didn't want to die, so I followed the ancient DNA-memories of my ancestor Altair Ibn-La'Ahad. And they sure got what they wanted; the apple. The Piece of Eden. After I had given them the location of the apple, they had decided that there was no reason to keep me alive. My life had been ordered dead. Until a certain woman had come to the rescue. A Lucy Stillman, whom had also been working forcefully under Abstergo, or the Templars. She was an assassin as well. She had helped me escape their grasp and I had met two other people. Rebecca and Shaun. All three of them were part of the futuristic Assassin Brotherhood. And they had decided to train me, using a much better version of the Animus. The Animus 2.0 built by Rebecca Crane. You see, the Animus has a side-effect called the "Bleeding-effect". As said before: Lucy had told me that it was the DNA-memories of mine and my ancestors that would start "bleeding" and mix together so that I wouldn't be capable of telling the difference between now and then.

Although, it would be severe consequences if being inside the Animus for too long, I had to learn how to become an assassin from the Bleeding-effect. My DNA would mix together with the specific ancestor and I would learn everything he learned.

That ancestor, was Ezio Auditore da Firenze...

"Me?" Ezio asked insecure. He sure had reason to be insecure. "Yes, you. I've seen everything Ezio. Learned everything. Ask me even!" I answered with confidence.

"Alright," Caterina spoke with great mistrust of my words. "Who am I then?" She asked. "That's easy," I answered. "You're Caterina Sforza. Ezio rescued your children from being kidnapped of the men you had hired to kill your husband. You spoke ill of him; a lousy father, boring in bed," I spoke. "And a pain in your ass." I added smiling. I couldn't help it.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8.

She stepped back in surprise. "No, you could have gotten that information from anywhere!"

"I've heard the prophecy."

Ezio stepped back.

"I heard everything." I spoke. "I know everything."

"Desmond..." Ezio spoke. "So that is you?" I nodded silently.

"Well, considering," Mario suddenly spoke to my surprise. "We might want to continue this small-talk inside..." We all had to agree on that one. The caliber of our conversation was pretty... big?

"So, let me get this straight," Mario spoke. "How is this happening again?" I sighed. "I don't know." I answered sadly and sat down on a nearby chair. Comfy. "I just know I can't get back." Ezio suddenly spoke: "And neither can Altair."

"It MIGHT be him." Caterina spoke. "We're not sure. But, seeing the situation we have here..." She looked in the direction of my position. "... There is a slight possibility."

"But why here?" Mario asked. "Why right here of all places? Why not back in Altair's time? Or in the future?"

I answered: "I haven't really been thinking about that one... I've been asking myself how come we can all talk the same language." Ezio flinched. "What do you mean? You're not Italian?"

"Do I look Italian?" I asked.

Ezio let out a chuckle, answering: "Not really." I smiled. Of course not. "But how did Altair do to get himself busted?" I asked confused.

"Maybe he got surprised?" Ezio asked.

"Good point... this is one hell of a surprise." I answered.

Caterina then spoke: "He was arrested in the name of Ezio Auditore da Firenze."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9. Sweet Awakening.

"_Hey old man."_

"_I'm gonna kill you!"_

"Desmond." I woke up. What kind of dream was that? "Good morning." Ezio greeted me. I grunted and stretched my back in a yawn. "Gotta say," I mumbled. "I've never slept this comfortable before." Ezio smiled. "We can afford it." He told, as he was about to leave the room, saying: "There is breakfast downstairs. We will be discussing how to free Altair when you get down there." I nodded and yawned another time, freeing myself from the lovely blankets. Man, what a day.

Or had it really been a whole day? Maybe this hallucination had been going in in just a few seconds in the real world? I heard that when your whole life flashes before you it happens in half a second only. Then, maybe the others were okay?

"Desmond!" I could hear Caterina yell. "Move your big _culo _and get down here!" I guess Rebecca didn't think it would be necessary to translate the word butt from Italian to English... I sighed smiling. Or maybe Shaun had told her it wasn't necessary. A chuckle escaped my lips as I zipped on my hoodie and I was ready for breakfast. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed Caterina?" I asked her, as I entered the room, where the breakfast supposedly was. It was.

She turned around faster than lightning, ready to scold me right off the bat, until she saw my clothes...

"What in God's name are you wearing boy?" She asked instead. I suddenly remembered that this was not year 2012... not indeed. "Um, this is the style we wear in the future. Like it?" I answered, and asked. Ezio looked at me with wide eyes and Mario couldn't help but to give away a laugh. Leonardo, however... "_Incredibile_!" He yelled out, as he approached me. "I'll say." I spoke, as he greeted me ecstatic. "Wow," I spoke. "Leonardo Da Vinci himself. I should be bragging." I greeted him smiling. He looked at me confused. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you," I spoke. "The Leonardo da Vinci." I spoke with a happy tune as I chuckled. Everyone were looking at me as if I were from the future. Which I was. Supposedly.

"You know. You're famous." I said smiling. Their stares had already become unpleasant. "Or," I spoke, my mood changing. "Maybe that's a little later in the future?"

"Famous?" Ezio asked, as he stepped further forward. I felt guilty for saying that already... if only life had an undo-button. Although, Ezio's frown did turn upside down into a smile. "Leonardo, you're famous!" He exclaimed excited. Should I have said that? "I don't quite understand..." Leonardo mumbled. Maybe I shouldn't have said it. "Leonardo, don't you get it? You're going to be famous!" I really shouldn't have said it. "Uh," I mumbled. "But I never really did listen that well in history-class... when is this anyway?" I asked around.

"This is no time to be fooling around is all." Caterina spoke. "You boys can have your little talk later - after we've helped out Altair, shall we?" Mario added.

"Oh, right..." I spoke.

"Yes," Leonardo added. "We can talk much, MUCH more later Desmond. When we do, I want to know how those things work..." He said, pointing at my shoelaces.

I just couldn't help but smile.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10. Coffee-to-go.

"Poor Desmond..." Lucy mumbled as she was about to take a zip of her coffee. The steam from the warm drink was seeking up, blurring on Shaun's glasses. He leaned his head away from the cup and decided to drink his "coffee-to-go" with a lid. "What do you mean?" Shaun asked her, drinking his coffee. "What do I mean...? He's in a coma Shaun!" Lucy spoke loudly.

"Technically, Lucy," Shaun started off his sentence. "We don't know about his current condition yet, so, he MIGHT be in a coma and he might NOT be in a coma-condition." Before Lucy got a chance to talk, Shaun continued, putting his cup down in the cup-holder inside the truck. "And also, we don't know if his condition is actually a threat to his health and physics, so – he might or might not be experiencing nothing more than a regular Bleeding-effect, that has been horribly reinforced by a glitch from the Animus 2.0." He breathed in before continuing: "And I know the Bleeding-effect can be very dangerous to his health, but wasn't it that little thing which started his whole training? His DNA is supposed to mix together with his ancestors and, hopefully, he will learn A LOT from them and their techniques. So – maybe, maybe not, this is a GOOD THING!" Shaun said, ending his monologue with a zip from his "coffee-to-go". Shaun then added: "But, of course, I might be horribly mistaken at any time – in this particular situation only of course." Lucy sighed. He was right. They had absolutely nothing so far. Guess they just had to wait for Rebecca's report...

Rebecca Crane tapped the buttons on her keyboard faster than anyone in the whole wide world could count. She had to find out what had happened.

Searching for virus, hack, system-failure, glitches, overloads and even dust inside the cooler was to take seriously. This whole thing could have been provoked by anyone or anything. Or perhaps even anyone AND anything? Damn, now she had to do the search all over. "Don't you worry Desmond," She spoke loudly to the man lying on a mattress they had placed inside the trunk of the truck, next to the Animus they had plugged into the motor of their van. She was also regularly checking up on his condition, and even the slightest moan, movement or FLINCH from him was considered dangerously important. He had been unconscious for about one and a half day so far. "I'll get you back." She promised him, finishing her sentence. Desmond let out a slight grunt. She flinched. "DESMOND!" She screamed and hurried over to his person. The unconscious man was sound asleep... But Rebecca was ready to take note of his condition once again. It was time for another condition-check-up. She pulled out her medical gear and... wait, why was she using the medical gear? If the Baby had gotten him into this mess; it was sure to get him out again! She had build Baby after all... the Animus 2.0.

"Hm," She mumbled as she listened into the silence around her. No Shaun, no Lucy... no one to tell her the risks before she would figure them out herself. It was time for drastic action!

Hopefully it really was...


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.

_Synchronization complete_. Good, the answers should be lying just ahead. Desmond was plugged in and perfectly synchronized. Now, what the heck was going on...?

"_How the heck are we supposed to open the cell if the keys are in a separate tower?" I asked around. Their plan was becoming more and more complicated and I was loosing my guts. Was it even possible to save him? _

Rebecca gasped out loudly. The Animus computer asked if she wanted to oversee earlier sessions... she sure did!

Meanwhile, their little conversation about getting Altair out of prison seemed to become more and more like a drunken party; they were slinging out words without thinking.

"What if we climbed the tower?"

"Are you nuts? Hello~ Does the word ARCHERS pop into your mind?"

"Wait, how about some food? He's going to be very hungry when we find him."

"This is a rescue, not a picnic!"

"What are we going to do when we find him?"

"Ask Desmond."

"How the fuck would I know?"

"You know everything, right?"

"Everything that YOU'VE experienced, YEAH!"

"What does the word 'Fuck' mean Desmond?"

"SILENCE!" Mario yelled at the top of his lungs. "Everyone, please be quiet!"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12. Plan Alpha Altair!

The room immediately went into silence and our attention turned to uncle Mario. No, wait, he's NOT my uncle! Shit, I keep forgetting... Oh, well, it'll probably pass.

"It seems Altair-"

"It MIGHT be him!" Antonio repeated for, like, the fifteenth time already. "We don't know yet."

"Either way, he's an innocent man arrested in MY NAME!" Ezio spoke. "I can't just ignore that."

"IT SEEMS..." Mario continued, after hearing this argument twice already. "...Altair is scheduled to be executed first thing in the morning a week from tomorrow. We need to get him out within a week then. I apologize if this might seem like a stupid idea – dangerous even – but if any of you have any other ideas then please, do tell." A silence fell for a moment, but then Teodora broke the silence, asking: "So, what is this dangerously stupid idea of yours _messér_ Mario?" Mario looked around him one last time, as if he was hoping there was any other ideas, but found no answer to his question. "Alright," He spoke after surveying the table one last time. Even the whole assassin's order couldn't think of anything all-together... oh, well.

"Alright, the keys are in a separate tower and the number of archers have drastically jumped from eight to thirty-two. Which means, Ezio, you will not be capable of getting up there like you did with Giovanni. You just won't! The Templars have set your death the highest of priority and they've made sure that YOU can't get neither in or out Ezio." He reassured Ezio, as if he thought he was about to do things on his own. He wasn't, I was pretty sure of it. Ezio knew how to appreciate his comrades, especially in a time like this. "So, we will have to scatter the archers. And guards." He spoke. "Desmond," He suddenly said to my surprise. "How well are you at running and climbing? Combat, perhaps?" At first I was going to say something like, _"I'm about as good as Ezio."_, but that would be... rude, somehow. At least, that's how I felt it was. "Well, I do pretty well at climbing. And jumping rooftops is surprisingly easy... and combat..." I activated my hidden blade. "I'm pretty confident when it comes to combat." Mario nodded, as if he was approving of me. "Considering you've learned from Ezio you must be pretty fast." He added. I nodded as I watched a smile occur on Ezio's lip. "Wait," Leonardo suddenly spoke. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking _messér_ Auditore?"

Our departure was coming up. I was just summing up the plan one last time, just to get it exactly right. Mario and Bartolomeo bring their men into battle and distract the guards. That should keep them busy. Alright, the courtesans should be in place by then. I still couldn't believe my ears when Mario told me to-

"_Vedró Madre_, I won't be gone for long. You shouldn't worry..." I could hear Ezio's voice from across the hall. Oops, I had walked so long, not knowing where I had been going. Maybe I was a little too nervous... but this was my first mission with a group of other assassin's. Shaun had told me that when my training was over I would immediately be sent into the field, and Lucy had once mentioned that all the assassins were slip into teams of four on each team. This was, however, quite a lot bigger than just four people, but the assassins back here was better equipped and suited. Much more popular. And stuff... "And you should really eat the food Claudia brings you... I know it's not first class-cooking, but," He chuckled. It sounded so pathetic, the way he was talking to her. She had left the world and gone into praying. Praying, praying, praying and more praying in front of those feathers. "at least she tries mother. I mean, you know how Claudia is about work..." He spoke. I peeked in through the doorway. Ezio was tightly hugging his mother, whom was just praying by the bedside. She was just sitting there, as if she didn't notice him. As if he was nothing but... nothing but nothing. She sort of reminded me of my own mother. Except, my mother always noticed me. She had always been so paranoid. Like dad. Had the Templars slaughtered them like so many other assassins? I wish I had such a bondage with my parents like Ezio, caring not if they had gone insane or... just love. Just pure love, you know... ah, crap, this is getting sentimental. I backed away from the scene, wiping a tear that had escaped my eyes. The floor squeaked below me. Ezio immediately looked up from his position next to his mother and noticed me. "Desmond?" He asked silently. He had been crying as well and now his face had been caught surprised. He quickly wiped his tears while I wiped mine. "Uh," I spoke nervously. "Sorry..." I spoke, coughing nervously a few times. "About that. I'm sorry, I just thought- I mean... I..." I took a deep breath. "You're..." I began, taking a deep breath. He looked at me through the silence and I felt awkward. "Well, we're leaving soon, so... I just thought I'd tell you." Before I exited the room entirely I left with a last word of apologizing. "Wait, Desmond." Ezio spoke, with his weird way of pronouncing my name. I turned around, trying to look as casual as possible. "I'm sorry... as well."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Well, I... I don't know. I was just... envying you."

"Me?" I asked, then continued with a chuckle: "Why would you envy me?"

"Because," He took a deep breath. "Because you're still alive." I looked surprised at him for a good while. "What?"

"You're alive Desmond... and so is your friends... your friends and parents and brothers and sisters and-"

"Ezio..." I cut in.

"And me?" He let out a single laugh. "I'm pretty much dead. My father and brothers has died. And soon mother will also... and Claudia... and... uncle Mario, even..." He spoke as if Mario was the kind of man that would life forever.

"No, Ezio, that's not true..." I spoke up. "At least..." Dare I say it? "At least you love your family..." He looked at me. "Or, at least you know they're dead..." I spoke nervously. "I don't even know if my parents are even alive anymore. They're probably dead. And there's nothing... absolutely nothing I can do." I sighed. "We never did love each other... it was all just... fear." I dared not to look at Ezio and I dared not to go on. It was all so stupid. A life, no, several lives living on the edge of fear. The assassins had always been chased by Templars. Always. And in the end, I guess my parents got too afraid. Too afraid of losing that love, which never even existed in the first place! "I'm afraid I don't really have any siblings either buddy..." I spoke smiling. "And friends? I never had any friends up until the assassins had rescued me from those Templar-bastards."

Ezio looked nervous. He looked so guilty at that moment. "So," He spoke after a minute of silence. Or, at least it must have felt that way. "We're pretty much the same... except, you're still alive." I chuckled from his statement. "You're not dead YET Ezio!"

We both suddenly broke into laughter. We just couldn't hold it back. Not anymore.

We were done weeping. The past was nothing but memories now...


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13. Have Faith, I Promise.

I sighed. Alright, going through the plan one last time:

Mario and Bartolomeo would bring their men into battle and distract the guards. The courtesans should be in place by then. Antonio, Rosa and their bunch of thieves would distract the archers. And then, the courtesans would help me and Ezio-

"Ah, Desmond!" I turned around in a flash, only to be met by Leonardo da Vinci and greeted with one big hug. I had heard rumors Leonardo was gay, though, I tried to ignore that fact. I had met a lot of nice gay people. Gays trying to get a date with me as the bartender, but nice people nonetheless. I should try not to let it bother me so much... after all, if only humanity could accept each another then peace wouldn't be that far away. One step closer... "How are you?" He asked me smiling. "I feel surprisingly good. I am a little nervous about the rescue-mission though..." Leonardo patted me on the shoulder, saying: "It'll work out, I promise!" I smiled. It was good to hear some optimism. Got to have faith, I guess. "I have been looking all over for you Desmond!"

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes, I have! Well," He spoke. "I was wondering if you could enlighten me on a few things." I looked up at him. "Like what?" I asked. "Like," He began, thinking about what his first question would be. "How does that thing work?" He asked and pointed at the zipper on my hoodie.

And that was just one question out of many...

"So, I've been going through the sessions, and as you can see," Rebecca told, pointing at the screen, showing a freeze-frame of Desmond at the table with the whole assassin's order around him. That was about the time when they had been planning the rescue. "Desmond is inside some kind of Animus-coma-condition, experiencing an EPIC bleeding-effect! Now, I've been running some data on how this affects his health and care, it seems fine, but I wouldn't know about his..." Dare she say it? "His psychic... you know, his mental state. It's hard to tell from a computer." She spoke, tabbing a few buttons.

"It's not real... is it?" Lucy asked nervously.

"Well, considering the fact that his body is still here would make it SEEM unreal." Rebecca spoke. "But Desmond's DNA is incapable of creating an alternate situation from memories only. The Animus too. It's just impossible. So, in truth," She shrugged. "I wouldn't really know."

"So, what you're saying is," Lucy spoke. "We're back where we started. We STILL don't know anything!"

"Hey, hey, that's not true!" Rebecca cheered. "We know he's healthy and- and we know what's going on – sort of – and we know that... this has to be a mix between the Animus and the bleeding-effect! And maybe something else..."

"It's all just so confusing." Lucy spoke.

"Lucy..." Rebecca spoke slowly and silently patted her on the shoulder. "You've got to have faith..."

Desmond mumbled a few unrecognizable words from his position in the Animus 2.0. "Uh, Rebecca," Shaun spoke from the drivers seat. "We should get him out of the Animus. He's been in there long enough." Rebecca nodded. "Right. Of course."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14. Two's a Party, Three's a Crowd.

"How the hell can you actually run in this?" I asked as soon as the long boots had reached my thighs. And I hadn't even put on the hoodie yet... sigh. "You've never worn it before? What DO the assassins in the future dress like anyway?" Ezio asked me as he was putting on the bracer for his hidden blade. "We dress as we please. The assassin are way more secretive and secluded in the future." I answered, having trouble with the shirt. Good thing at least the shirt wasn't so tight. My heart wouldn't be able to beat properly if so... "Wait, what is that?" Ezio asked me, pointing at my arm of choice. "What? You mean these?" I asked him, pointing at my tattoos. Tattoos haven't been invented yet? Wonder when that happened... "It's sort of like," I thought about it for a moment. "Body-art." Ezio nodded as if he was approving of my 'tats. He then put on the hoodie and sat on the bedside, waiting for me to finish dressing up. I felt like I was undressing, the was his stare burned through the shirt. I could smell that these clothes had been made specially for the purpose of our rescue. It didn't smell like Ezio had been using them at all. Did he actually keep a spare uniform? The world may never know... I slipped through the assassins dressings and looked myself in the mirror. Not bad, all kidding aside. "Wait," I spoke. "You have a beard and I don't. Won't they notice?" I asked, looking over at Ezio by the bedside. He then touched his beard as if he had never noticed it before, but spoke: "Don't worry. If they can mistake Altair for me, I'm sure they can also mistake YOU for me." I nodded. What a fatal mistake they had done. Stupidity. What if they ever noticed that the man they had caught wasn't actually Ezio? What would they do to him? Would they kill him? Torture while interrogating? Poor Altair. That man was probably even more confused than us.

The door opened and Mario emerged from it, telling us to put on our hoods. It was time.

We walked the stairs to the room where everybody seemed to be waiting for us.

"You look alike." Caterina smiled.

"Well, maybe Ezio should have shaved, but there is no time for that. Let's go." Machiavelli said and told a warrior to tell the others to get ready. "Desmond, Ezio, we will be awaiting your signal." Mario told as he went with the soldier into position. Bartolomeo was probably already in place. How impatient of him. "The courtesans are ready. They're standing at the towers, though, we needed some to cover up a big party in the other end of Firenze so you're short on girls." I told her it was okay and held back a joking comment on how I wondered if Ezio would survive without them. "A party?" Ezio asked.

"Well, it's a party with a very interesting choice of guests... officially they're celebrating victory of some sort of battle, but unofficially they're celebrating the capture of Ezio Auditore. They have front seats for the execution tomorrow. All of them." Paola spoke disgusted and spat on the ground to show it. "_Bastardos_." So it's a Templar-party. Good, then we know where we have them: All in one place. Things were slowly adding up. "Right, we'd better get going." I spoke, waltzing out of the Auditore-house and into the streets. Ezio followed and we both went our separate ways. I was going to collect the first key and Ezio the second one. The keys were to be collected secretly and then we would go on to phase two: the not-so secret part of the plan. The most dangerous one even. I just hoped I wouldn't screw up this whole thing. But Mario had told me if that happened they would just improvise. That didn't exactly make me feel better, but uncle Mario spoke in a way that made me feel comfortable. After all, he was everything I had left for a father now... wait, no! That was Ezio! Crap! I keep messing up this whole thing! It's because I'm wearing his outfit, I'm sure. And the bleeding-effect. Man, at this rate I'll be typing in blood and encrypting secret files on the Animus in no time... crap. I'm going insane and the worst part is the fact that I know it. Going insane the sane way. Very nice. I climbed a ladder to the rooftops and the feeling of crowded streets were gone. I felt so free up there. On the roofs. Well, no time to embrace, got to go. I jumped the first rooftop, then the second, third, fourth... I climbed higher, jumping the next rooftop and then the next one, I hid in hay, roof-gardens, behind walls; only to avoid the extra archers that were around around. Some I killed, but only if I had no choice. I liked to minimize the amount of killing, mostly because the first phase was in secret. Suddenly, I could see the tower, yet also something else... light? Probably the party. Yeah, the fireworks indicated as much. Ezio sure knows how to make people happy... those idiots better enjoy that party. Fuck, the party is right next to the tower! Shit, why didn't anybody tell me? I sneaked off of the roofs and greeted the courtesans. I asked them if that would be a problem, but they merely answered: "We'll just invite them to the party. It'll make things easier really." Her perfume went right through my nose and I swear I was getting a nosebleed from the stench. (Better than having another bleeding-effect-incidence anyways...) They asked if we should get going and I nodded. No time to waste. I hid in some stinking, prickling and itching hay while the courtesans waltzed closer to the entrance of the tower. The guards immediately recognized the smell of getting laid and went for it. I jumped out of the hay and went inside. The door wasn't locked. Good. I closed the door silently and ran up the stairs. Two more guards. No problem, I'd just have to use both hidden blades. Only, when I did a knife went through only one head and not two. Instead, my other hand embraced the other guards head. Crap, only Ezio has two hidden blades. I forgot. He looked shocked at the body next to him and I quickly reunited them. I sighed and thought to myself: Fucking embarrassing. I could feel the burning and blushing on my cheeks and continued walking the stairs, up the tower. I was getting closer, I could feel it!

* * *

Desmond and I depart in each our direction. This plan was probably one of the craziest things I had ever done, but I would have to ask Desmond that later. Maybe I had done something worse, but just hadn't done it yet. Confusing? You bet.

But the plan would definitely work out. Desmond and I looked alike - except for the haircuts, but the hoods would mask that. And we even had the same scars! I wonder how he got his? In a fight as well? Or maybe it is just plain genetics. What-ever they called it... and this whole DNA-business is so complicated too. Even Desmond do not understand. Probably only Leonardo understand it... Leonardo is a genius no doubt. I can feel the wind embrace me as I jump the first rooftop. It's so relieving. So... freeing! Like the boundaries of the ground itself could not stop us. Nothing can stop freedom! Is that the tower? It's surprisingly close to the prison. Good, I can reach part two a lot faster then. I just hope Desmond will make it here in time for part two... No time for worries. I have to hurry. Where are the girls? I survey the area roughly as I jump off of the roof. Where are those girls?

* * *

I was getting closer, I could feel it! Just a little-

"_Hey old man."_

"_I'm gonna kill you!"_

A headache thundered through me and kept circling around until I could not stand without support from the surrounding walls. The bleeding-effect! No... Not now... "Who's there?"

"_What? What did I do?" _

I recognized those voices... but which of them were mine? Who was I?

"_You're the reason I'm stuck here!" _

"_What? No! If this is anyone's fault it's Desmond's!" _

Desmond... who is Desmond?

"_Guys! Calm down!" _

Was that Desmond? What's he doing there? Who-

"ASSASSIN!"

I snapped. Who was I? And why is he attacking me? Was I the assassin? WHO AM I?


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15. The Apple.

I'll have to do this without the girls then! Maybe I shall just climb the tower. No, the doubled amount of archers will notice. What do I do then? How will I distract them all?

Wait, if I am so close to the prison... then maybe I can just start part two without worries...? Yeah, that should get their full attention. Good, it's settled. I'll just have to wait for Desmond now. Wonder how far he's come by now?

* * *

My head was aching... so... badly! But at least I could remember. Damn, that was weird. I had better go on before I ever do that again. I stepped aside from the guard – dead as a doormat on the stairs – and finally reached the top. Yes, the key was actually here! Silver. Wonder if it was real or fake silver? Never mind that. I took the key and surveyed the view. What a party. Whores and alcohol everywhere! High class-music, dancers, exclusive clothing for the special event. Singers and actors – my god, they've set up a stage to act on! Wonder what they're playing? Artists of all kind. Entertainers – the kind of entertainers they had back here anyways. Nice nonetheless. If I didn't know better – and I do – I'd think they were celebrating having collected a piece of Eden! Wait... wait a minute... no, it can't be... didn't... but...

"How the heck could I forget?" I yelled out loudly. I couldn't help myself.

The Templars had actually gotten hold of the apple! Altair have one! He had it! THE APPLE! No, no, no, no! How could I forget? Altair had a piece of Eden and the Templars took it! It's not Ezio, it's the apple! NO!

* * *

Watching the prison from my current view. I can hear the party from here... I sure am famous.

"Ezio!" A voice whispers. "Desmond?" I ask smiling. Took him long enough. "Ezio, we have a problem!" He hiss at me.

"We sure do. We had better begin part two immediately so I can get down to business."

"You already know then?" He ask me... confused?

"The question is: Do you know? I don't recall telling you." I demand, also confused. He looks very upset.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asks annoyed.

"It's not my fault! I only noticed when I arrived here." I answer annoyed. It's not my fault those girls are too busy partying!

"Me too. I arrived at the tower and I suddenly remembered!" He exclaim. "But you're right. Let's go on with part two. I have the key. Do what you must do. Maybe they wont notice your presence if they're too confused."

"Good. Wait for me in the tower. I'll hurry back as fast as I can."

"You don't have to. Just go retrieve it!"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Part Two.

The fire was reaching up from the hay, grabbing onto the wood of the execution-platform and embracing the robes where Ezio's father and brothers had fallen. I could feel the warmth. The warmth had turned into heat and the smoke had turned the sky gray. It was funny, seeing the guards and archers turn their heads to see the fire and then see the two of us: Ezio Auditore – no, two of him. So the third Ezio they had captured was fake – or not? I could immediately see the confuse in their faces and let out a devious smirk along with a small chuckle. I could hear Ezio do the same.

The guards were asking themselves and each other:

"Is that Ezio Auditore?"

"No, the Auditore is in prison!"

"Demons!"

"Monsters!"

"It's the work of the devil."

"Look, it's the assassin! Both of him?"

We both seemed to be enjoying the moment. We stood up in front of the heat, the waves of warmth embracing our persons – standing on top of the execution-platform...

"It doesn't matter who the real one is! Ezio Auditore is sentenced to die tomorrow! KILL HIM!" A captain commanded loudly enough.

And there's your signal. The thieves got out of hiding and immediately jumped the archers. Mario, Bartolomeo and their warriors ran into action from behind us and past us, right into the guards. (There must have been hundreds of guards!) We knew the courtesans were busy holding back the Templar-bastards - partying their asses off.

It was a spectacular sight: Dust was whirling from downwards and up, circling around the battlefield only to catch up with the fire. Swords meeting and blood was already embracing the battlefield. From the heatwaves of the fire Ezio and I decided to disappear. Our presence blurred out of vision and all the guards that were trying to follow us got caught in either the fire or the battle-turmoil. I was heading for the prison and-

"Ezio, where are you going?" I asked him as he was heading for neither the prison nor the party. "Wait for me in the tower! I'll be right back." He told and disappeared in between the fighting. "But you're going the wrong way!" I yelled and killed a guard who thought he could take me out. "He's probably taking a short cut – or he'd better be!" I hurried for the prison. I made my way through the crowds, whirling around every single battle, guarding swords and punches from men whom had dropped their heavy weapons. I reached the door to the prison and it was locked of course. With a metallic sound I brought forth my hidden blade and tried to wield the lock with it's sharp end. I had only seen such things in movies – like when pirates were opening treasure-chests with their hooks. As I was attempting a movie-cliche I could feel the smoke burn my lungs so instead I kicked the door violently open to save time and fresh air. A couple of guards heard so I killed them before I moved on. I hurried inside and slammed the door shut behind me. The sound echoed through the room – maybe even the whole tower – and I took a deep breath. I just had to hope that I wouldn't go insane again like that incident in the tower. This whole bleeding-effect was getting on my nerves. Off to rescue Altair! Ah, crap, I just remembered... Ezio had the second key! Well, no use going back for him. He was probably at the party already.

* * *

I kicked the door to the tower open – even though it wasn't locked – and hurried up the stairs. Some guards heard me and turned around only to meet both my blades. I ran the rest and entered the top. Yes, the key! A very nice silver-key (fake, nonetheless) designed solely for the purpose of locking doors – not opening them. Rules are to be broken! I jumped out of the tower and landed on a conveniently placed guard. I waved, smiling, to uncle Mario and hurried for the prison. Everything was going according to plan!

* * *

Lovely. A whole ten guards and three of them were "bullies". At least they weren't carrying guns or tasers, like the ones from Abstergo. Sigh, things can ALWAYS get worse can't they? I scanned the room: a single cell and ten guards. I couldn't look inside the cell – it was too dark. But – wait, I have eagle-vision! I "turned on" (please don't ask me how I do it) my eagle-vision and squinted my eyes just enough to sense an ally behind the bars. Good. So, plan A: Head on attack. Plan B: ... okay, I had brought forth my hidden blade once again, only to use it right this time around. Man, that time back in the tower was so embarrassing...

"What is that noise outside?" A guard asked. I listened carefully and noticed that the battle-turmoil could be heard from in there. "They're probably partying their asses off out there." Another guard sighed and leaned up against the wall. "Man, why can't WE be outside and have fun?"

_Be my guest_, I had thought as I sneaked up closer. "Why would they want to party HERE?" A younger guard asked.

"Less talking guys, less talking. It's probably the party from the other side of town that's reached up here or something. You know how those rich bastards are... They think they're GODS or something!"

"Is that so?" What? Altair?

The guard turned around and faced the cell, answering: "Yeah, you should see them! But, of course, you must already know that _messere_ Auditore... a noble man like yourself SHOULD know!" Idiots. Have they never actually SEEN Ezio before? "This Ezio you speak of... does he look THAT much like me?" So it really IS Altair behind those bars! Man, how did this happen? What went wrong?

"There he goes again..." A fifth guard whispered to some other ones. "I think that Auditore went NUTS when his family died... seriously!" I could hear Altair rattle his chains in the cell and could think of no better time to make my move: while they were still conversing. I hurried to kill the first man and the second one in the rush and confusion. Eight more to go. A whole two bullies ran towards me and held ready their hammers. Holy SHIT! I ducked a hammer and guarded a sword. Sliced a throat, killed a man, I ducked another hammer and noticed that the third BULLY was behind me – due to the noisy armor he was wearing and rattling about. Altair seemed shocked, and I hurried to kill two men at once: with my dagger and one of my throwing knives. Five more to go. Well, four more to go now. Three, actually. You know what, let's just kill these three bullies. I disarmed one and used his own weapon against him. I then held the hammer tightly and whirled it at the other two: sudden death! Or, whatever... rest in peace. I turned to Altair once more, and he was less shocked than me now. Stone-faced once again.

"Are you this Ezio Auditore the guards have spoken of so much?" Was his first question as I approached his cell. "No," I answered. "But I dressed up as him to fool them." I opened the first lock and smiled reassuring at Altair, saying: "The real Ezio Auditore should be on his way though. He's retrieving the apple as we speak." Altair nodded approving. "Good. I was worried."

"Me too." I said. "Don't do that again." I smiled at him.

"But how did YOU know?" He asked me. Great, time to explain. I hoped Altair was a very gullible guy... after all, even I could not make any sense of this. I couldn't even make nonsense of it!

"I GOT IT!" I turned around to face the real Ezio Auditore da Firenze and smiled bigger than I had ever done before – except for that time with Lucy. "You got the apple?" I asked simultaneously with Altair.

"What?"...

...And the silence shall continue all the way until chapter 17...


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17.

"What?"...

"You got the apple?" I repeated smiling.

"What?" He repeated smiling.

"The apple!" Altair shouted annoyed. "Did you get the apple from that man?"

"What man?"

"The one who had the apple!" I yelled at him, frustrated. No, this was NOT happening! "What are you talking about? The apple is safely secured in the villa!"

"Ah, what a relief." Altair sighed.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" I yelled out loudly. "I meant the apple ALTAIR had! Did you not go to the PARTY?" I screamed at him. This was SO not happening! "Altair had an apple?" Ezio asked confused. At this point I had to give myself a slap to the face in sheer stupidity. "Ezio..." I spoke slowly. "...I thought you told me you KNEW..."

"And I thought YOU knew!"

"Knew WHAT?"

"About the key."

"The... the key?"

"Yes, I was retrieving the key!"

That's it, I am OFICIALLY going crazy here! "You went... to... you went... to... get... the KEY?"

"What key?" Altair asked the both of us.

"Yes. Why? What else would I want to go get?"

And that was when I snapped. I just snapped. Something snapped and it was inside me. I don't know what it was, maybe it was my temper, maybe it was my sanity... it just snapped.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GET THE MOTHERFUCKING APPLE!"

"Desmond, calm down. You're speaking in tongues."

"FUCKING SHIT!"

"Please, Desmond,"

"FUCKING!"

"I can't understand a word you're saying...!"

"SHIT!"

"You... you DON'T have the apple?" Altair asked.

"It's in the villa!"

"Don't you FUCKING get it? There are TWO apples!" I shouted at him. I shouted some more swear-words, like the usual fuck and shit, and that was when I got a headache. I could feel the insanity overwhelm me. I can't remember what happened next, but I must have collapsed for a few seconds. Maybe that hay had been filled with weed and I had smoked it - or alternately I was finally losing it. Either way, the next thing I knew was Ezio's worried face right up my own face. I got a big shock and automatically kicked his innards in surprise. "_Oof!_" He pouted and immediately stood away from me. I took a deep breath. If only Lucy was there. Or Rebecca. Or – heck - Shaun even.

"Are you okay?"

I took another deep breath. And another one. "No," I sighed annoyed. "I am not okay Ezio." I got up from the ground and looked at Altair's cell. "At least let out Altair, you..." I was going to say moron or call him a dumb fuck, but I would leave that for later. I was NOT looking for another snap. He did, smiling as he said: "I got the key." I almost punched him when he said that, but... just no. I had kicked him already, that was enough.

"Um," Ezio spoke. "Desmond, what about the cuffs?"

"What?" I mumbled and looked in his direction. Cuffs? Chains? MORE KEYS? God damn-it, this is so not good stuff on my sanity.

Insanity 2 – Sanity 0.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18. A fast solution – a faster assassin.

"Hey old man." Ezio greeted Altair.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Altair shouted at him annoyed.

"What? What did I do?" Ezio exclaimed confused.

"You're the reason I'm stuck here!"

"What? No! If this is anyone's fault it's Desmond's!"

"Guys! Calm down!" I shouted. "This isn't helping. At all."

"If Desmond had told me about the apple-"

"I thought you knew!" I shouted annoyed.

"I didn't know Altair had an apple too. Honest!"

"Just get me out of these. I'm sure one of those men had the key." Altair said and nodded in direction of the dead guards. Ezio nodded and hurried to search them. As did I.

True, one of them had the keys. The sound of rattling chains and keys turning through the space of keyholes sounded through the cell. Altair smelled horrible, but maybe that wasn't from staying in the cell, maybe Jerusalem just wasn't very clean. Sometimes, maybe. "Listen," Altair spoke. "We have to get back that apple. A party you said?" He asked and turned to me. I answered him a yes and pointed in direction of the flashing fireworks outside. "It's at the other side of the town." Ezio stated and took a good look at the city. "I'll need to go higher." Altair stated.

"Huh?" Both Ezio and I asked. "What do you mean?" I asked him.

Altair had already climbed out the window and up the wall. Curious and mislead as we were – we decided to willfully follow Altair to the top of the tower. The wind was blowing a lot harder than I had remembered. I watched Altair survey the city from a nice viewpoint. He looked so focused. So... I don't know – serious. He looked very, very serious. But I had always seen him like that. At least, for as long as I can remember. I mean, he can remember – I mean – his memories. The Animus.

I slapped myself in sheer stupidity – this time my own. Was I really going NUTS? Lucy had told me something... she had told me to focus on the present whenever I felt distant. But how the hell am I supposed to feel present in the past? It makes no sense.

And before I knew it, he had jumped. We willfully followed Altiar into the haystack – I did so without thinking. It just felt natural. Somehow.

"Sh." Altair demanded as a guard was walking by. We silenced ourselves and waited for the guard to slowly leave the location. He was hurt from the battle in the plaza. "Clear." He spoke and continued: "Okay, which one of you is Ezio and who is the other?" He first asked. "I am Ezio. And that is Desmond."

"Well, my name is Altair Ibn-La'Ahad."

"How do you even _spell_ that?" I asked confused to the pronouncing of his name. Altiar then answered in some weird-shit Arabic and asked me my full name afterward. "Well, I'm Desmond. Miles."

"And you think _my_ name is nonsense?" He asked me.

"Your name is old." I answered him. "No one in the future is named ALTAIR."

Ezio then asked: "Is anyone named Ezio Auditore in the future?"

"No." I quickly answered.

"Is that your full name?" Altair asked.

"I have a title too..." He said.

"Title is of no use. Good, your names are Desmond..." He nodded at me. "...and... how did you pronounce that again?"

"Ezio."

"Fine. We will enter from each our direction at the party: Auditore, you go in from the front. From above. Desmond, I want you to come in from the back – from below. I, myself, am going to blend in and-"

"You can't, people will notice you." I told him.

"I'll just blend in with the scholars."

"With the what?" Ezio asked. "Why don't you just hang around the _Madonnas_?"

"With the what?"

I interrupted them both in annoyance: "Altair, why don't you go in from the tower? It's on the left and you should be able to jump into some nearby flower-stands. They sell the flowers at the party for decorations. The cart will drive closer sooner or later."

"Good." He answered. "It's settled then? Any questions?"

"Yes," Ezio said. "What will we do from there on?"

"Improvise." Altair answered.


End file.
